Shubman Gill is, no doubt, the next pin-up boy of Indian cricket. After Sunil Gavaskar left the scene, it was Sachin Tendulkar who filled that void. By the time Tendulkar made an entire nation emotional, Virat Kohli was ready to take the baton from him. And now that Kohli has retired, it is Gill who is the next in line.
Gill’s story is of perseverance, hard work, unbelievable talent and also the sacrifices of a family that moved out of its comfort zone to build a career for their beloved child. His father, Lakhwinder Singh, is a farmer, as is his grandfather, and they hail from Fazilka, a small village on the India-Pakistan border.
“We fully supported him for achieving his dream to become a cricketer,” Lakhwinder once said. “We dedicated 15 years in ensuring he fulfils his ambition. We even left our work and skipped several family functions, including marriage ceremonies of our relatives, so we could dedicate as much time as we could.”
For the cute little kid, the apple of his grandfather’s eye, the first toy was a bat that the old man carved out of a tree trunk. From the villages of Punjab to leading the team out at Headingley on June 20, 2025, it has been quite a journey for captain Gill.
Gavaskar was a product of his times. An India still in its youth, trying to rebuild after a fierce struggle for independence. He wanted to save his team and then look at options. Tendulkar happened to India at the time of economic liberalisation, and the flamboyance was a function of his age. Kohli’s generation didn’t carry the baggage of the past and showed what fearlessness was all about, while Gill belongs to a generation which is all about decisiveness in decision making. It is this decisiveness that he will need a lot of as skipper in England.
At practice yesterday, Gill walked out about five minutes after his teammates had all trudged onto the ground. And once there, he went straight to check on the pitch where his head coach was waiting for him. There was a longish conversation next to the pitch before the skipper joined his colleagues for a fun fielding session. When it was his turn to bat, he looked solid and resolute. Yes, he was beaten a couple of times by Jasprit Bumrah, but then, that’s Bumrah for you. Against all the other bowlers, Gill was his assured self. Feet moving properly and eyes on top of the ball, the captain seemed keen and intense. And at the end the batting session, he spent another good 20 minutes with the head coach discussing things.
This is his coronation and a lot will depend on how he goes as batter and captain. As former Australian skipper Michael Clarke said, “Shubman is the next all-format superstar. But on this tour, he will need to score runs to gain the respect of the dressing room as captain.”
From his U-19 days, it has been known that Gill is special. Finally, here is his moment. As red-ball captain of India, in the format that matters the most.